California Proposition 65 Reformulation of DINP in Consumer Products

A number of Prop 65 settlement agreements involving DINP have been reached for a variety of products. Many of these allow a Prop 65 warning label as an alternative.

SAFEGUARDS | Consumer Products
NO. 111/18

California Proposition 65 (Prop 65 [1]) is the ‘Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986’, a ballot initiative passed overwhelmingly by California residents in November 1986. It requires the state to publish a list of chemicals [2] that are known to cause cancer, birth defects or reproductive harm. The list was first published in 1987 and has evolved to more than 860 chemicals.

In December 2013, weinformed you [3] that California had added diisononyl phthalate (DINP [4]) onto the Prop 65 list of chemicals as a chemical known to cause cancer. Unless specifically exempted, companies doing business in California have been required to provide ‘a clear and reasonable warning’ before knowingly and intentionally exposing anyone to DINP since December 2014 [5].

From August 30, 2018, businesses are required to comply with new and revised language for a clear and reasonable warning [6] for the purpose of Prop 65.

A number of Prop 65 settlements requiring the reformulation of DINP in a wide variety of products have been reached. Highlights of these are summarized in Table 1. It is interesting to note that the reformulation requirements for DINP in each one of these settlements are less than 1000 ppm (entries 5 and 7) or not more than 1000 ppm (entries 1 to 4, 6 and 8). Many of these settlements also allow the use of a Prop 65 warning as an alternative.

Entry

Scope

Reformulation/Warning for DINP

1

Desk pads

≤ 1000 ppm otherwise warning

2

Electronic accessories, parts and products

≤ 1000 ppm

3

Flexible power cords/extension cord products

≤ 1000 ppm otherwise warning

4

Pillow and mattress protectors

≤ 1000 ppm otherwise warning

5

PVC coated rubber gloves

< 1000 ppm otherwise warning

6

PVC plug fits for coin banks or salt shakers

≤ 1000 ppm otherwise warning

7

Vinyl letterings

< 0.1% otherwise warning

8

Vinyl stair treads

≤ 1000 ppm otherwise warning

Table 1

A Prop 65 settlement is a consent agreement between the parties named in the Settlement. Any party not named in a Settlement is not bound by it.